GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Chief Executive magazine announced that Deloitte, PwC and Transplace earned the top spots in its 2014 Best Private Companies for Leaders ranking.

"These private companies are stand-outs when it comes to putting their people first," said J.P. Donlon, editor in chief of Chief Executive magazine. "While most companies say they value their people, these are the organizations that make it happen on a daily basis -- in good times and bad."

For both public and private companies, difficulty balancing long-term and short-term business requirements continues to be the number one challenge in nurturing leaders. Rapidly changing business requirements also poses a challenge, as do the financial challenges of designing and investing in effective programs. More than 20% of survey respondents rated their companies as "poor" or "average" at developing leaders, and just 66% of CEO respondents agree that HR is an effective partner in leadership development.

The ultimate question for corporate leaders is whether leadership development pays off? Yes, says the data. Among public companies, the top 15% of companies surveyed for the ranking generated average market capitalization growth of 200% over a 10-year period (2003 to 2013) versus 85% average market capitalization growth for companies that ranked in the bottom 15%.

Created in collaboration with Chally Group Worldwide and the Human Capital Institute, the ranking is based on five factors:

Having a formal leadership development process in place.

The commitment level of the CEO to the leadership development program, as measured by the percentage of time spent.

The depth of the leadership funnel, as measured by the percentage of senior- and middle- management positions filled internally.

The number of other companies that report recruiting from the company being evaluated.

The 10 Best Private Companies for Leaders were chosen from among large, private companies with minimum revenue of $1 billion. Chief Executive magazine also ranked the 40 best public companies, which were led by P&G, IBM and General Electric.

About Chief Executive Group

Chief Executive Group elevates the effectiveness of CEOs and the enterprises they lead. The Group produces the award-winning Chief Executive magazine (published since 1977), website ChiefExecutive.net, and hosts exclusive events for CEOs to network, learn and share ideas with peers. The Group also publishes proprietary research which gives CEOs insights through data and trends that better help them lead their organizations.